The Sacramento Kings are expected to lose DeMarcus Cousins soon and the Rudy Gay squad is making sure they are not left with nothing after his exit. Hence, it comes as no surprise that the Ben McLemore team is looking into partnering with an NBA team that can offer them a player as promising as the Olympic gold medalist. In their search for this ideal trade partner, the Sacramento Kings seem to have found what they are looking for in the Philadelphia 76ers roster.
The Sixers have been quite vocal of their problem in the lineup coming in this NBA season. With three centers capable of starting for the basketball squad, the Ben Simmons team is in dire need of releasing one of them. Among the three, a Jahlil Okafor trade seems to be the most widely talked about compared to any potential deals involving Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid.
"I didn't have any expectations in the offseason of who was going to be here, who wasn't," said Jahlil Okafor on the NBA trade rumors involving him. He added, "Obviously, we do have a lot of bigs. That's not a secret. . . . I wouldn't say that I'm surprised and I don't know what's going to happen. That's out of my control. I will take care of what I can."
The Duke alum has been on the radar of a couple of NBA teams since he signed for the Sixers and Joel Embiid started showing signs of recovery. With his talent, basketball squads are looking into making him a potential face of their franchise and leader of the roster. The NBA teams interested in going for a Jahlil Okafor trade are the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, and San Antonio Spurs. However, it seems that the Philadelphia 76ers might get the most out of a deal with the Sacramento Kings.
"We have a lot of time for things to work out," explained Bryan Colangelo of their plans moving forward. He added, "Some of it will happen in the preseason. Some of it will happen in the regular season. But I don't feel like we are up against any kind of deadline of any sort."
Rumors are rife that the Sacramento Kings are now looking to simply rebuild their team. With DeMarcus Cousins reportedly itching to get out and lead a more promising squad, the Philadelphia 76ers are swooping in to offer a Jahlil Okafor trade plus future draft picks to sweeten the deal. Will this be enough for the Rudy Gay squad to release DeMarcus Cousins early?
The answer remains uncertain. At this point, this is still an NBA trade rumor. That is, the parties have yet to confirm or deny the idea. However, fans are excited to see how this particular scenario could play out.